This medium-sized woodpecker has a name likely to elicit a smile or a raised eyebrow. It is 7″ to 9″ long, weighs 1½ oz. to 2 oz., and has a 13″ to 16″ wingspan.

The back is black with extensive narrow white barring. The belly is yellowish. The flanks are yellowish to white with narrow faded barring. The breast is black. The rump is white. The wings are black with narrow white bars and a large white patch that is conspicuous during flight. The tail is mostly black.

The head is mostly black and white and boldly striped. The crown is bright red. On the male the chin is bright red. On the female it is white.

Sign

Long, horizontal, more or less straight lines of small, closely-spaced holes in the trunk of a tree are a sure sign of this bird.

Voice

A repeated, scratchy, nasal, cat-like me-ew.

The drumming is a loud roll quickly slowing to rapid but clearly separated taps and finished by 3 or 4 well-spaced taps at the end.

Tree sap and small insects attracted to the sap filling the holes made by the bird. Also hammers for insects and catches insects on the wing.

Nesting

In late April and May the male and female excavate a nest hole in a live poplar or birch tree 6½′ to 65′ above the ground. They will often choose a dead limb or a trunk with decayed heartwood. Excavation takes from 2 to 3 weeks. The finished nest will be up to 10″ deep with an entrance hole only 1½″ in diameter. The nest is not lined.

The female lays 4 to 7 eggs on wood chips left over from the excavation. Both adults share incubation duties. The eggs hatch in 12 to 13 days. The young leave the nest 25 to 29 days after hatching.

There is only one brood per year. Nests are often reused year after year.